1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a golf mat which is used for golf practice.
2. Prior Art
Generally, a golf mat uses an artificial turf installed on a rectangular base plate. If such a golf mat is not fixed on the ground, the mat moves in the direction of the swing each time the golf club strikes the mat when hitting a ball. Therefore, it is necessary to repeatably correct the position of the mat and this is troublesome. On the other hands, if the mat is fixed on the ground, the mat does not move when a mis-shot, for example, "a fat shot" is made. If this happens, the shock of the drive is transmitted directly to the wrists, elbows, shoulders, etc; and may cause problems such as tendinitis, etc.
Furthermore, the position of the ball when hit generally tends to be concentrated in the central area of the mat. As a result, heavy use causes an excessive abrasion of the artificial turf at the center of the mat.
Some golf mats recently marketed have driving surfaces of a circular or polygonal shape so that the driving surfaces can be rotated when a ball is hit. Examples are described in the Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 63-100075 and the Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 60-13499.
According to the mat disclosed in the Laid-Open No. 63-100075, the shock-buffering effect is improved. However, the mat bounds each time a ball is hit since the artificial turf is installed also on the side of the mat which contacts the ground. In addition, if the mat is placed on soft ground, for example, sandy soil, the artificial turf installed on the mat bites into the ground, so that the mat does not rotate well. Furthermore, it is not possible to adjust the degree of rotation of the mat.
On the other hand, according to the mat disclosed in Publication No. 60-13499, the driving surface of the mat can be replaced when the artificial turf of the mat is worn out. However, to replace the mat is difficult and must be performed by hands. In addition, there are several other problems; for example, the ability of the mat to reduce the shock caused by driving is not good enough to prevent physical problems such as tendinitis.